Pressure vacuum-relief closure cap for automobile radiator



Nov. 1-9, 1963 H. L lVlNS 3,111,239

PRESSURE VACUUM-RELIEF CLOSURE CAP FOR AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR Filed May 19, 1961 g Sheets-Sheet 1 INVHVTOR.

, HEEBEET Z. ll/l/YS BY F761 7 H. L. IVINS 3,111,239

2 Sheets-Shegt 2 PRESSURE VACUUM-RELIEF CLOSURE CAP FOR AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR Nov. 19, 1963 Filed May 19, 1961 United States Patent 3,111,239 PRESSURE VACUUM-RELXEF CLOSURE CAT FDR AUTGMGBELE RzaDLaTGR Herbert L. Ivins, Cleveland, Ghio, assignor, by niesne assignments, to The Murray Corporation, Ton/son, Md,

a corporation of Maryland Filed May 19, 1961, Ser. No. 111,324 4- Ciainis. (1. Mil-4d) This invention relates to a pressure vacuum-relief closure cap for automobile radiator filling spouts, and particularly to a cap of this general character in which the vacuum relief valve can be opened readily by means of a push button accessible for operation while the cap is connected in sealing position to the radiator spout.

One object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective cap which, by a slight change in a single part, can be made effective for the sealed or for the partially sealed systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide for more effective venting of steam in the radiator through the valve to the overflow pipe of the radiator while the main closure valve is seated and the vacuum relief valve is open.

A more specific object is to provide a novel and effective seal for preventing the escape of steam through the top of the cap adjacent the push button stern when the push button is depressed for opening or unseating the vacuum relief valve.

Another specific object is to provide a cap having an outer wall so arranged in surrounding relation to the push button adjacent the outer face of the push button that the danger of accidental depression of the push button by parts on the hood of the automobile and the like is greatly reduced.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description wherein reference is made to the drawings, in which:

PEG. 1 is a top plan view of the cap embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged axial sectional view through the cap, taken on the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the cap;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the cap, taken on the line 44 in PEG. 2;

HG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the cap, taken on the line 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary secitonal view, taken on the line 6-6 of PEG. 2, showing a supporting spring for the vacuum relief valve;

FIG. 7 is a right end elevation of the spring shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the lower portion of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2, showing a modified form of supporting spring for supporting the vacuum relief valve in open position so that the cap can be used in partially sealed systems.

Referring to the drawings, the cap is shown as associated with a conventional automobile radiator spout 1 having a seat 2 surrounding a filling port 3. The spout has the usual attaching means which include the downturned bayonet connecting portions 4, and further is provided with an overflow pipe 5 disposed with its opening between the seat 2 and the upper end of the spout. At its upper end, the spout has a seating area 6 on which a diaphragm carried by the cap normally is seated, as will later be explained.

The cap, indicated generally at 7, includes a cap body member 8 having the usual radial ears 9 and bayonet locking connecting portions 10 arranged to cooperate with the bayonet connecting portions 4 on the spout, when the cap is placed 011 top of the spout, pressed downwardly, and rotated, to detachably retain the cap in position.

The structure thus far described is conventional and of itself does not embody the present invention.

The cap has a top wall 8 having an outer face 11 and an inner face 12 and a central aperture 13. A valve support 14-, preferably in the form of an elongated sleeve, is secured to the wall 8 and extends endwise away from the wall 8 toward the port 3 of the spout and preferably is coaxial therewith. In order to secure the support 14 to the wall 3, the support has an end portion 15 of reduced diameter which extends through the aperture 13. The margin of the portion 15 is peened over, as indicated at 16, for securing the support 14 firmly against the outer face ll of the wall 8. The support 14 has an upwardly facing annular shoulder l7. A diaphragm 18 having a central aperture through which the upper end portion 15 of the support 14 extends, is arranged with its inner annular margin clamped firmly between the shoulder 17 and the inner face 12 of the Wall 8 so as to form a tight seal to prevent the escape of steam between the support 14 and the wall of the aperture 13.

The diaphragm 18 extends outwardly from the support 14 and at its outer margin has an annular seating portion 19 w ich seats on the seat 6 on the outer end of the spout when the cap is secured in place, The diaphragm is preferably of spring material so as to maintain a resilient pressure contact between its own seating area 19 and the seat 6 or" the spout.

A main closure valve 2t including a body 21 and a valve disc 22, is arranged to close the port 3. The body 21 has a central aperture 21a through which the support 14 extends so as to support the valve on the support for movement endwise of the support and limited movement radially thereof. The body preferably is generally bell shaped and at its lower end is connected to the valve disc 22. The valve disc 22. comprises a rigid metal valve plate 23 and a gasket 24 coaxial therewith. The plate 23 and gasket 24% have aligned central apertures, as indicated at 25, through which a clamping rivet 26 extends and firmly clamps the plate 23 and the gasket 24 together. At its outer margin, the plate 23 is provided with a plurality of fingers 27 which are adapted to be bent over the lower margin of the body 21 for securing the valve disc 22 thereto. A suitable seating spring 28 is operatively interposed between the wall 3 and the valve. In the form illustrated, it is disposed between the diaphragm 18 and a suitable shoulder 25 on the bell body 21. At its lower end, the support 14 is provided with an out-turned flange portion 3% which limits the movement of the valve in the direction toward the port 3. The rivet 26 has a central passage 35 coaxial with the port 3. The passage 35 is large enough to permit ready escape of steam from the radiator past the seated valve discs 2?. when the vacuum relief valve is unseated.

The vacuum relief valve comprisesa disc or plug 36 which is secured by a spring 37 to the main valve disc 22 in a position for seating on a seating area on the underface of the gasket 24. For securing the disc 36 to the main valve disc 22, a spring 37 is connected to the disc 36, extends through and beyond the aperture '35, and is connected to the outer face of the main valve disc 22.

In the form illustrated, the spring 3'7 is a leaf spring which is connected intermediate its ends to the valve disc 35. For this purpose, the spring is provided with a central aperture 3-55 and the valve disc is provided with an aperture 39. A combined rivet and stem at} extends through the aligned apertures of the spring 37 and disc 36 and clamps the central portion of the spring and the disc firmly in juxtaposition with each other. A portion of the stem 4:), indicated at dila, extends upwardly through die passage 35. The spring 37 has portions in the form of arms 41 which extend mm the central portion upwardly through the passage 05 and in such close proximity to the walls of the passage 35 that the arms maintain the valve disc 36 in proper alignment for closing the passages 35. The arms 41 extend to a level above the upper face of the plate 23 and have terminal portions which exten outwardly radially from the passage 35 and back toward the plate 23. Their free ends 41b engage the upper surface of the plate 23 with the arms in stressed condition which is sufficient to urge and hold the valve disc 35 in resi ient seated engagement against the underface of the gasket 24 while permitting yieldabiy resisted movement of the disc 36 downwardly away from seating position against the gasket 24.

The structure thus described is adequate to permit the vacuum relief. However, it is desirable also to use it for venting steam developed in the radiator while the main valve disc is seated and the cap is attached to the spout in normal operating position. For this purpose, the passage 35 through the rivet 26 is made much larger than usual and preferably of a diameter at least equal to onehalf of the diameter of the seating area of the disc 36, and preferably at least about one-third of the diameter of the seating area of the main valve disc 22. This provides capacity large enough to permit the escape readily through the passage 35 of the amount of steam which can pass around the unseated valve disc 36.

Generally, in valves of this general character, the bell contains passages for permitting air to enter to relieve vacuum as the valve disc 36 is unseatcd by outside air pressure as the engine cools. However, such passages generally are inadequate to permit passage of the great amount of steam which can pass the unseated disc 22. In the present valve, a large number of passages 42 are provided in the body 21. These passages have a capacity such that they can readily vent into the neck above the seated main valve disc 22 and below the diaphragm 18 the amount of steam which can pass through the passage 35 when the vacuum relief valve disc 36 is unseated. It is desirable, as mentioned, to unseat the disc 36 and use it as a means for exhausting steam in the radiator while the cap is connected to the radiator neck. For this purpose, a suitable push button St) is provided. The push button 59 is arranged at the outer face 11 of the wall 8 and has a stem 51 which is slideable in a bore 52 of the sleeve or support 14-. The lower end of the stem 51 is operatively connected to the stern portion 46a of the pressure relief valve so that, when the push button is depressed, the lower end of the stem 51 cooperates with the stern portion 33a for unseating the relief valve disc 35.

It is desirable that the push button be held in its raised or undepressed position other than by the spring which seats the valve 36. Further, it is desirable that an effective seal be provided between the stem 51 and the wall of the bore 52 of the support 14. For these purposes, a sealing gasket 53 is provided. This sealing gasket is preferably of relatively soft resilient material, such as rubber or neoprene or other elastomeric material. The gasket lightly embraces the stem 51 so as not to interfere with movement of the stem axially. It is of sufficient diameter to seat on the upper end of the support lid and thus seal the upper end of the bore 5'2. In order to hold the gasket in effective sealing engagement with the upper end of the support 14 and the periphery of the stem 51, a suitable spring 54- is operatively interposed between the underside of the push button 5t and the adjacent face of the gasket 53. This spring is of sufiicient strength to urge the push button upwardly to, and hold it in, the desired undepressed position and concurrently to compress the gasket 53 sufficiently to prevent the escape of steam through the space between the stem 51 and the bore wall of the bore 52. For this purpose, the leaf spring 5'4 comprises a body 55 with a central aperture 56 through which the stem 51 extends. The body is provided with marginal fingers 57 at two opposite margins. One of the fingers ward-iv from the body so that, at their outer ends, they t e underside of the push button. The body 55 against the gasket 53.

inner end of the support 142- and limits the outward movement of the stern so as to retain the push button in the proper outward or undepressed position. Thus, by depressing the button, the vacuum relief valve disc 36 can be unseated and the radiator spout vented through the passage 35, the bell 2i, and the passages 42 to the overflow pipe 5, while at the same time the gasket 53 is pressed firmly into sealing position.

in prior structures of this character, the push button extends above the level of the outer face 11 of the cap and hence is in position such that when the hood of an automobile is closed, the insulating material or some part of the hood sometimes strikes the push button and depresses it, thus unseating the vacuum relief valve. In order to reduce the dangers of accidental depression of the push button, the cap has a guard wall which extends outwardly away from the spout so that its inner periphery is close to the plane of the outermost face of the push button and which is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the push button in closely spaced relation. A convenient guard wall is provided by a name plate 68. The name plate has a central inturned annular flange 61 defining a passage 62 of which the walls are in close proximity to the periphery of the push button. The outermost surface of the name plate, indicated at 63, is very close to the plane of the outer face of the push button when the push button is in its outermost position. The plate 60 may be an upwardly concavo-convex stamping which is provided at its periphery with fingers 65. The fingers are received in suitable apertures 66 in the top of the cap and then bent firmly against the inner face 12, thus rigidly holding the name plate in position on the cap. The name plate, therefore, provides the guard wall.

Referring next to FIG. 8, the parts are the same as those heretofore described, except for the spring 37. The structure illustrated in REG. 8 is adapted for the semisealed or partially sealed system. In it, the vacuum relief valve normally remains in open position in which it is sufficiently close to the main valve disc so that the relief valve disc can be moved to closed position by steam pressure developed in the radiator. The main valve disc is indicated at 70, and the vacuum relief valve disc at 71. The disc 71 is normally suspended in open position by a member 72 which is essentially the same in shape as the spring 57, except that the outer or terminal portions 72a, corresponding to the portions 41b, are shorter than the portions 2 1b. Therefore, when the portions 72a engage the upper surface of the valve disc 70, they suspend the vacuum relief valve disc 71 in spaced relation slightly below the valve disc 7!} so that it is normally open. The member 72 need not be spring material.

Thus, a semi-sealed system is provided in which the disc 71 is closed by steam pressure and is held closed until the pressure is abated or the disc is unseated by depression of the push button.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A pressure vacuum-relief closure cap for an automobile radiator filling spout and comprising a cap member adapted for detachable retaining association with the open end of the spout and having an inner face facing toward the spout and an outer face, an elongated supporting sleeve secured to the member and projecting endwise from the inner face, a main valve including a body mounted on the sleeve for movement toward and away from the cap member and a closure disc carried by the body, a seating spring operatively interposed between the cap member and the body and urging the valve away from the cap member, said disc having an outer face at one end facing away from the cap member and an inner face at the other end facing toward the cap member, a main seating portion on the outer face adapted to seat on a complementary seat in a filling spout, said disc having a vacuum-relief port therethrough for permitting passage of steam and air through the disc and having a seating area on the outer face and surrounding the port, a vacuum-relief valve at said outer face seatable on said seating area, a leaf spring having a central portion at said one end of the disc connected to the vacuum-relief valve and having arm portions connected to said central portion and extending therefrom through the port beyond the inner face of the disc, said arm portions having free terminal portions, respectively, extending outwardly from the port EZXiS and engageable with said inner face for supporting the vacuum-relief valve in alignment with the port and normally in engagement with said seating area, said port being large in relation to the surrounding seating area, said arm portions of the leaf spring which lie beween the ends of the port being spaced apart fiatwise from each other transversely of the port and disposed close enough to diametrically opposite wall portions of said port so that their lateral edges, by engagement with the peripheral wall of the port, constrain the relief valve at all times to proper alignment with the port, and said body having passage means therethrough of adequate size to vent any steam and air which can escape through the port past the unseated vacuum-relief valve.

2. The structure according to claim 1 wherein said free terminal portions of the leaf spring are continuously in engagement with said inner face and normally hold the relief valve in resilient light pressure engagement on its seat.

3. The structure according to claim 1 wherein a push button is disposed at the outer face of the cap member and has a stern slidable in the sleeve, and means are provided on the vacuum relief valve and are normally unconnected to the stem, but are operatively engageable by the stem so that by depressing the push button a predetermined distance toward the vacuum relief valve, the vacuum relief valve is unseated while the relief valve is constrained to alignment with the port by the leaf spring.

4. A pressure vacuum-relief closure cap for an automobile radiator filling spout and comprising a cap member adapted for detachable retaining association with the open end of the spout and having an inner face facing toward the spout and an outer face, a support secured to the member and proiecting endwise from the inner face of the member and having a passage extending endwise therethrough, and open at the outer face of the cap, a main valve including a body mounted on the support for movement toward and away from the cap member and a closure disc carried by the body, a seating spring operatively interposed between the cap member and the body and urging the :disc away from the cap member, said disc having a main seating portion on the face opposite from the cap member and adapted to seat on a complementary seat in the filling spout, said disc having a vacuum relief port therethrough for permitting passage of steam and air through the disc, a seating area surrounding the port at the face of the disc opposite from the cap member, a vacuum relief valve seatable on said seating area, spring means yieldably supporting the vacuum relief valve in alignment with the port, said body having passage means for venting steam escaping through the port when the vacuum relief valve is unseated, a push button disposed at the outer face of the cap and having a steam slidable in the support, means on the vacuum relief valve cooperable with the stem to unseat the vacuum relief valve upon depression of the push button, a gasket embracing the stem and disposed against the support at the outer end of the support, an additional spring interposed between the gasket and the button and yieldably urging the button away from the valve disc and urging the gasket into sealing relation with respect to the passage and the stem and yieldably holding the button in undepressed condition, means for limiting the movement of the button outwardly beyond the undepressed position, said additional spring being a leaf spring having a body portion with a cental aperture through which the stem extends, said body portion having two elongated marginal fingers extending alongside its opposite margins, said fingers being connected, each by one of its ends, one finger to one end and one to the opposite end, of the central portion, said fingers being free at their other ends, respectively, and said other ends engaging the inner face of the button and urging the body portion yieldably into engagement with the gasket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,171,163 SWank Aug. 29, 1939 2,191,614 Frantz Feb. 27, 1940 2,591,562 Levell Apr. 1, 1952 2,990,971 Enell July 4, 1961 

1. A PRESSURE VACUUM-RELIEF CLOSURE CAP FOR AN AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR FILLING SPOUT AND COMPRISING A CAP MEMBER ADAPTED FOR DETACHABLE RETAINING ASSOCIATION WITH THE OPEN END OF THE SPOUT AND HAVING AN INNER FACE FACING TOWARD THE SPOUT AND AN OUTER FACE, AN ELONGATED SUPPORTING SLEEVE SECURED TO THE MEMBER AND PROJECTING ENDWISE FROM THE INNER FACE, A MAIN VALVE INCLUDING A BODY MOUNTED ON THE SLEEVE FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE CAP MEMBER AND A CLOSURE DISC CARRIED BY THE BODY, A SEATING SPRING OPERATIVELY INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE CAP MEMBER AND THE BODY AND URGING THE VALVE AWAY FROM THE CAP MEMBER, SAID DISC HAVING AN OUTER FACE AT ONE END FACING AWAY FROM THE CAP MEMBER AND AN INNER FACE AT THE OTHER END FACING TOWARD THE CAP MEMBER, A MAIN SEATING PORTION ON THE OUTER FACE ADAPTED TO SEAT ON A COMPLEMENTARY SEAT IN A FILLING SPOUT, SAID DISC HAVING A VACUUM-RELIEF PORT THERETHROUGH FOR PERMITTING PASSAGE OF STEAM AND AIR THROUGH THE DISC AND HAVING A SEATING AREA ON THE OUTER FACE AND SURROUNDING THE PORT, A VACUUM-RELIEF VALVE AT SAID OUTER FACE SEATABLE ON SAID SEATING AREA, A LEAF SPRING HAVING A CENTRAL PORTION AT SAID ONE END OF THE DISC CONNECTED TO THE VACUUM-RELIEF VALVE AND HAVING ARM PORTIONS CONNECTED TO SAID CENTRAL PORTION AND EXTENDING THEREFROM THROUGH THE PORT BEYOND THE INNER FACE OF THE DISC, SAID ARM PORTIONS HAVING FREE TER- 